Stocks have fallen on Wall Street after concern about consumer spending was triggered by a disappointing outlook from 3M and a second consecutive month of falling domestic sales at McDonald's.
Investors also reacted badly on Tuesday to a reduction in Greece's debt rating and a $US3.7 billion loss by a Dubai developer.
The Dow Jones Index was down 114 points, more than 1%, to 10, 274. The Nasdaq Composite was down 13 points to 2177.
Earlier in Europe: the FTSE in London was down 1.7%, the DAX in Frankfurt was down 1.7% and the CAC-40 in Paris was 1.4%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei was down 27 points to 10,140. The Australian 200 Index was down 6 points to 4671.
The NZX 50 index fell 8 points to close at 3139.
At 8.20am on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 71.77 US cents, 78.27 Australian cents, 43.48 pence, 62.53 yen and 0.4814 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 63.66.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US75.18 per barrel. Gold was trading at $US1148.70 per ounce.
